Top of the Mornin to Ya!

Today a customer learned a very difficult lesson!

The story starts last night when the customer came home, parked the car in the garage and went to spend time with the family. Just one little mistake, the customer had turned on the headlamp override switch. This bypasses the automatic shutoff feature! Of course the next morning while in a hurry to get to work, the customer found the battery “Dead as a door nail!” The customer jumped to action and connected a standard 10amp battery charger and rushed off to the daily grind. At lunch time the customer got a ride home from a coworker expecting the battery to have been recharged and ready to go!

Surprise!!! The engine still would not crank!

Now assuming that the battery was bad the customer had the vehicle towed into my shop. Remember what they say about ass/u/me! Whoops should not have said that!
Our technician charged and tested the battery, which passed with flying colors!
Guess what? The car engine cranked over just fine but would not start! Further testing revealed that the computer would not communicate with our scan equipment, nor would it turn on the fuel pump, injectors or anything! After replacing the computer or ECM (Engine Control Module) the car started and performed perfectly!

So what happened? Any guesses?

Hope this keeps the brain cells busy!

Harold Wood
President
Harold’s Quality Auto Repair Inc.

PS: I let you know next time!